人类史是智人（Homo sapiens）从生物进化到文明构建的宏大历程，跨越约30万年。其核心脉络可提炼为四个阶段：
一、生存革命（30万年前—1万年前） 非洲起源的智人凭借语言、协作和工具（旧石器）突破生理局限，5万年前走出非洲，扩散至全球。火的使用、抽象思维（洞穴艺术）和社群分工（狩猎采集）构成早期文明基因。
二、农业革命（1万年前—公元前3000年） 末次冰期结束后，新月沃地、长江流域等9个地区独立发展出农业。小麦/水稻驯化推动定居，人口从百万级跃升至千万级，但阶层分化、疾病传播与生态破坏随之而来。
三、文明竞合（公元前3000年—公元1500年） 两河、埃及、印度河、中国四大原生文明通过文字（楔形文字/甲骨文）、金属冶炼（青铜-铁器）和制度（法典/官僚体系）建立秩序。游牧与农耕文明的冲突（匈奴/蒙古西征）、跨区域贸易（丝绸之路）、宗教传播（佛教/基督教/伊斯兰教）推动技术（造纸/火药）与文化融合。
四、全球化转型（1500年至今） 大航海时代打破文明孤岛，殖民扩张与工业革命（1760年）重塑权力结构。20世纪科技爆炸（电力/核能/信息技术）使人口突破80亿，但资源争夺、生态危机与文明冲突加剧。基因编辑、AI和太空探索正重新定义“人类”边界。
核心驱动：能量获取（狩猎→农业→化石能源→核能）与信息传递（语言→文字→印刷→互联网）的升级，推动社会组织从部落到国家的形态跃迁。当前人类面临可持续发展与文明存续的历史性挑战。
Human history traces the evolution of Homo sapiens from biological survival to civilization-building over approximately 300,000 years, structured into four pivotal phases:
Survival Revolution (300,000–10,000 BCE) Originating in Africa, early humans leveraged language, collaboration, and primitive tools (Paleolithic) to overcome environmental constraints. Around 50,000 BCE, migration out of Africa began. Mastery of fire, abstract thought (cave art), and communal division of labor (hunter-gatherer societies) laid the foundations of early civilizations.
Agricultural Revolution (10,000–3000 BCE) Post-Ice Age, nine regions—including the Fertile Crescent and Yangtze River Valley—independently developed farming. Domestication of wheat/rice enabled sedentism, boosting global populations from millions to tens of millions. However, social stratification, epidemic diseases, and ecological strain emerged as trade-offs.
Civilizational Competition (3000 BCE–1500 CE) Primary civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley, China) established order through writing (cuneiform/oracle bones), metallurgy (bronze to iron), and governance (legal codes/bureaucracy). Conflicts (e.g., Mongol invasions), trade networks (Silk Road), and religious spread (Buddhism/Christianity/Islam) drove technological (paper/gunpowder) and cultural hybridization.
Global Transformation (1500 CE–Present) The Age of Exploration shattered regional isolation. Colonial expansion and the Industrial Revolution (1760s) reshaped power dynamics. Twentieth-century innovations (electricity/nuclear/IT) propelled populations past 8 billion, yet intensified resource conflicts, ecological collapse, and ideological clashes. Emerging technologies (gene editing, AI, space exploration) now redefine humanity’s boundaries.
Key Drivers: Advancements in energy acquisition (hunting→agriculture→fossil fuels→nuclear) and information transmission (speech→writing→printing→digital networks) catalyzed societal evolution from tribes to nation-states. Today, humanity faces existential challenges in balancing progress with planetary sustainability.